Epson America has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit. Among other things, the suit alleged that Epson inkjet printers and cartridges indicate that cartridges are "empty" and suspend printer function, even though substantial ink remains.

If your printer is included, you can get $45 to spend in the Epson store, or $25 and a $20 Epson credit, or a discount of 25 percent off Epson purchases up to $100. The printer list and claim forms are at:

(1) I wonder how much ink left over is "substantial". A $45 settlement doesn't indicate the court thought there is a huge swindle here. Does anyone know the technical details? For example, when they sell a 220ml cart do they mean 220ml total or 220ml usable? If the former, how many ml get left in the tank?

(2) OK, it was a US legal initiative, but despite what I said above, if this is a real issue perhaps Epson should offer the settlement to customers in other countries too?

(3) Epson has issued a firmware up-date in recent months which is supposed to provide better ink management at the bottom of the cartridges - perhaps to address this issue?

I purchased a resetting tool when I first got my 2200. It resets the cartridge so it shows as being full of ink. I then continue to use my cartridge until it shows about a 1/8th drop. That is when I change my cartridge. I've opened the old cartridge and there is still ink in the bladder. Conseqently, I know I've never run to empty, which can allow air into the print head. I just changed out a magenta and did not reset it. I split the case open to find the large round chamber and the two chambers to the left were still 100% full of ink.I'll download the firmware update and see if the amount of ink remaining is any better. While $45 dollars won't pay for my time, it will buy me 4 more cartridges.Ink is very profitable for EPSON but customer relations are more important. With all the major printer manufactures coming out with new photo grade products, EPSON may have some real competition.

Peter, what are you comparing with what - each of those companies makes so many different models. I have an HP Business Inkjet which works on 4 cartridges that just seem to last forever - but they are dyes. Do you know of anyone who has conducted rigorous ink consumption tests of an HP pigment ink printer versus an Epson pigment ink printer with the same file under the same operating conditions?

I purchased a resetting tool when I first got my 2200. It resets the cartridge so it shows as being full of ink. I then continue to use my cartridge until it shows about a 1/8th drop. That is when I change my cartridge. I've opened the old cartridge and there is still ink in the bladder. Conseqently, I know I've never run to empty, which can allow air into the print head. I just changed out a magenta and did not reset it. I split the case open to find the large round chamber and the two chambers to the left were still 100% full of ink.I'll download the firmware update and see if the amount of ink remaining is any better. While $45 dollars won't pay for my time, it will buy me 4 more cartridges.Ink is very profitable for EPSON but customer relations are more important. With all the major printer manufactures coming out with new photo grade products, EPSON may have some real competition.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=62751\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Where did you purchase your resetting tool from? What have you learned from the Epson firmware update? Thanks.